Chapter 607: Decoy!
Chapter 607: Decoy!
The entire stadium burst into cheers as jubilant Kawasaki fans leaped up, celebrating their team's hard-won goal. Hugging each other and chanting, they turned the stadium into a euphoric sea of excitement.
On the field, Tatsuki sprinted toward Hiro with a beaming grin, pointing at him in tribute to his assist, and Hiro welcomed him with open arms. The opposing fans, meanwhile, fell into silence.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The crowd joined in unity with the team, brimming with anticipation for what might come next. In one corner, a group raised a large banner, chanting Hiro's name in powerful unison.
On the sidelines, the opposing coach could be seen barking instructions. At the same time, the reserve players were preparing to head inside.
Manager Haruki, however, appeared relaxed.
Meanwhile, the reserve players and the coaching staff of Kawasaki were celebrating the goal. Staring deeply at the pitch with a subtle grin on his face, Ono was seated on his spot, 'Even though it's the team where I debuted, why don't I feel bad seeing them lose?'
He couldn't help but contemplate his feeling of excitement.
Though he tried hard to hide the emotions he felt, he couldn't help but feel excited about the moment. From what he had seen, he knew that the opposing team's predicament hadn't ended yet.
Rather it had only begun.
They had only begun to build momentum and it would get better with every passing moment. Even so, he didn't feel even an ounce of pity toward his previous team.
It might be because Kawasaki had lent him a helping hand when he was at his lowest while his previous team had abandoned him.
While contemplating, he cast a glance at the other side of the pitch. There he was met with the infuriated figure of his previous manager under whom he had flourished.
Looking at him, he felt a pang of sadness.
Even though the club had treated him miserably, the manager hadn't treated him that way. So, he couldn't help but feel sad about it.
Soon after the celebration ended, the match resumed.
Despite having conceded two goals, the opposing fans didn't stop to show their support. Their cheers got even louder and more enthusiastic than before.
It was like they were telling their players that they supported them fully.
With every passing moment, the match became even more heated. The focus, however, was on a single player- Takahashi Hiro.
In today's match, there seemed to be no one who could match him.
Watching him was a pure moment of bliss for the spectators.
Be it creating chances or impressive breakthroughs, he seemed to be proficient in every single aspect. Even when faced with multiple opponents, he easily breaks through as if he were a professional paired against a bunch of amateurs.
Ihara upon seeing such a miserable state of his players could feel his scalp turning numb.
And the more Hiro toyed with their defense, the more frustrated he felt.
Anxiously, Ihara stared at the pitch, his brows knotted into a frown, "What kind of role has they made him play today?"
Ihara couldn't help but contemplate Hiro.
Even though he initially started at a false 9 position, he had been dropping deep as if he were
a deep-lying playmaker. At the same time, he often found Hiro attacking from the flanks like a winger.
It was almost as if he didn't have any fixed position.
Contemplating, he turned to look at the handbook he had in his pocket. He had been scribbling all the important information he could get from the match.
Suddenly while he was glancing at the handbook, he was distracted by the intense noise coming from the stand.
A little startled, he turned to look at the pitch. There he saw, Hiro advancing at a threatening pace, his players struggling to stop him.
Immediately, upon seeing the event unfolding on the pitch, he started becoming anxious.
His eyes rolled vigorously as he analyzed the field.
Immediately, he located three other opposing players rallying alongside Hiro, each progressing equally fast.
Seeing those opposing players made his heart palpitate. Subconsciously, he blurted, "Flanks! Protect the flanks!"
The players behind him were equally anxious and some of them looked like they'd jump out of their seats any moment.
Lightning Steps!
Suddenly, Hiro's acceleration spiked to an unprecedented level. Seeing the sudden change made many spectators thrilled. Their eyes dilapidated while they felt a rush of euphoria.
The opposing defender had been expecting this sudden spike. So, when they noticed the sudden acceleration, they moved closer. Preventing him from leaving was far better than chasing him after they left them behind.
So, they moved closer to obstruct him.
However, the moment they moved closer, Hiro released the ball.
Following the ball, they turned to look at the direction of the ball which led them to shift their attention away from him.
The moment of distraction was what Hiro needed.
Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Hiro sprinted from their blind side, leaving them behind in the dust.
The ball was headed straight to Tatsuki, who was also sprinting.
Without even pausing to stop the ball, Tatsuki swept his leg, playing an immediate one-two pass with Hiro, leaving his marker baffled.
Fortunately, there was another defender who had stayed back while the others had advanced
to stop Hiro.
The opposing number two was prepared to make a rough tackle if the situation required him to make one. So, he performed a sliding tackle, attempting to clear the ball away. During the process, he was likely to collide with Hiro. But he couldn't care less about giving away a spot-kick. He could tell that if he didn't stop Hiro, they were sure to concede yet
another goal.
So, he performed a reckless sliding tackle attempting to reach the ball before Hiro.
Hiro, however, simply stepped over both the ball and the opposing number two.
This left the opposing number two baffled.
Turning behind to look at the direction of the ball, he found Ito preparing to shoot.
Turns out, Hiro had intentionally left the ball for Ito.
In this attack, he was merely a decoy, and the opposing players were so fixated on him that they failed to notice the advance of Ito.